JUSTICE LEAGUE: An In-Depth Look At Whether Joss Whedon Rescued Or Ruined The Movie

Justice League was partly Zack Snyder's and partly Joss Whedon's but did the latter's involvement ultimately ruin the movie or rescue it? Here, we take an in-depth look to come up with an answer...

By JoshWilding - Nov 23, 2017 07:11 AM EST

Filed Under: Justice League

Following the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, it was made clear that Justice League would feature a lighter tone and the handful of journalists invited to the set of the DC Comics movie pointed to the Flash providing plenty of laughs, a good sign that was indeed going to be the case. So, it appeared as if the DC Films Universe had been set on the right path and that we would get a Justice League with all of Zack Snyder's sensibilities but a feel far closer to the comic books.

After Batman v Superman (a movie I enjoyed but one which was essentially two hours of the Dark Knight plotting to murder the Man of Steel), this third part of Snyder's trilogy needed to bring a little levity to proceedings but, alas, that simply wasn't enough for Warner Bros. and as the development of the DC Comics adaptation continued, they brought in Joss Whedon and, well, did they make a massive mistake or was that the smartest move they could have possibly made for the project?

Click below to keep reading and for our look at whether Whedon ruined or rescued the movie.

Clearly unhappy with Snyder's first cut of Justice League, Warner Bros. hired The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron director Joss Whedon to write reshoots Snyder would direct. For whatever reason, the studio clearly felt he and original screenwriter Chris Terrio weren't up to the task but things then took a shocking and drastic turn for Justice League which none of us saw coming.

It was revealed by the trades that Snyder had decided to step down from Justice League because his daughter had committed suicide. Realising he couldn't finish working on the project, Snyder decided to hand the reigns to Whedon not only as the director of those reshoots but for the entire post-production process as well. Many fans questioned whether Snyder might have been fired from the project by Warner Bros. and that this was being used as an excuse for both parties to save face and stop any more negativity from engulfing the DC Comics adaptation. If that is the case, it's shocking but stranger things have happened in Hollywood before now.

So, with Whedon now working on the movie and Snyder having no involvement whatsoever, changes started being made. For starters, the filmmaker fired composer Junkie XL and instead hired Danny Elfman to take charge and deliver a far more traditional superhero score. For an insight into the chaotic production process, look no further than recent comments from Elfman in which he revealed that he was scoring storyboards as opposed to actual footage! That's unprecedented but shows how much Whedon was reworking Justice League and how rushed the whole process was.

Those reshoots required the return of almost every cast member, lasted for months, and cost upwards of $50 million. Henry Cavill, in the midst of shooting Mission: Impossible 6, also came back but unable to shave off his moustache because Paramount Pictures wouldn't allow it, drastic measures were taken to hide it. However, we'll get to that fiasco a little later!

Months passed by and the hype surrounding Justice League continued to grow. We'd often get reports about the movie being a mess but Whedon's involvement made a lot of fans very happy and the trailers and TV spots pointed to this being one of the best DC Comics movies to date. Little did we know that a clip featuring Steppenwolf was probably our first look at scenes which were rushed out after reshoots because the CGI clearly wasn't up to scratch and sadly looked no better in the finished product. Warner Bros. delaying the date that critics could Tweet their reactions also didn't help matters and neither did the fact that reviews would hit just days before Justice League was released. That wasn't exactly a sign of confidence on the studio's part!

The Tweets and reviews all started hitting social media within days of each other and while those early reactions were mostly positive with some complaints, the full verdicts were far more negative and it quickly became apparent that it wouldn't fare any better than other DC Films releases (Wonder Woman not included). Rotten Tomatoes holding back Justice League's score only made matters worse and those early estimates of a $110 million opening - already way down from Batman v Superman - started dropping.

Justice League debuted with $94 million, a shocking result which will lead to the movie losing $50 million - $100 million for Warner Bros. However, now that we'd seen the movie, it was easy to see just how much work Whedon had done on it and you need only look at Superman to see the extent of that. Henry Cavill's CGI mouth is present in all but a handful of scenes and that's a result of his moustache being removed in post. There was also upwards of thirty scenes from the trailers which had gone missing and with cast members like Jason Momoa and Ray Fisher coming forward to detail deleted scenes involving their characters, it quickly became apparent that Whedon had cut an awful lot from Justice League.

That was particularly the case with Superman because as we've mentioned, the director clearly reshot almost all of the Man of Steel's scenes. This could have something to do with the fact that Snyder reportedly intended keeping Superman evil for the cast majority of Justice League, something most fans and moviegoers would not respond well to. Throw in reports that he also cut a cliffhanger ending and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Joss Whedon's Justice League was not Zack Snyder's Justice League despite the fact that it was initially reported he would keep his fellow filmmaker's vision in place.

I enjoyed Justice League and there's no denying that this Superman is vastly superior to what we got in Cavill's first two appearances. However, the movie is a mess and that's down to two clashing tones which simply don't work well together. Snyder's Justice League probably would have been overlong, dark, and a tad convoluted but it's a version I believe would have been a better experience overall even if the reviews probably would have been just as bad and there would have been moments in there upsetting to fans.

Did Whedon rescue us from an inferior version of Justice League? I don't think so. Instead, he subjected us to a lot of ill-fitting humour, a Batman who didn't really feel like Batman, and a whole new final act. On the other hand, he gave us a vastly superior Superman, a Justice League movie which actually felt like the comic books and a fun, breezy adventure which feels like a step in the right direction for the DC Films Universe. However, saying Justice League was saved by Whedon would, in the words of the Flash, be a major oversimplification.

To some extent, Whedon did actually ruin Justice League because he essentially changed its entire foundation and delivered a movie which didn't really work. However, I don't think the blame really lies at his feet. This is what Warner Bros., a studio which seemingly has little to no confidence in it's DC Comics properties, wanted and that meant we got a movie which was created by committee. A Marvel facsimile which fails to reach the lofty heights of anything delivered by the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the complete opposite to the filmmaker-driven approach which made Wonder Woman such a hit. The studio's lack of planning is what really ruined this movie.

Ultimately, though, a series of unfortunate circumstances is what hurt Justice League. Regardless of whether or not Warner Bros. wanted Snyder to finish this movie, the tragic death of his daughter put a stop to that and we ended up with an enjoyable but flawed superhero movie. To answer the question posed above, though, yes, I think Joss Whedon probably did ruin Justice League when a is said and done. Sure, he delivered a lot of good work but somewhere out there is a much better version of this movie with only Zack Snyder's fingerprints on it. It's just a shame we'll never get to see it.

JUSTICE LEAGUE Director Zack Snyder Says He's Pretty Excited About James Gunn's DCU Plans

Recommended For You:

JUSTICE LEAGUE Director Zack Snyder Open To Making Animated Sequels; Believes Some DC Fans Are "Brainwashed"

DISCLAIMER: ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and... [MORE]

ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

Do you have what it takes to write for us?

Want to contribute?

178 Comments

1 2 3 4 5

Mamamartha - 11/23/2017, 7:20 AM

Neither.

Pantherpool - 11/23/2017, 7:25 AM

It feels like most of the changes were done by WB instead of Whedon.

OB1 - 11/23/2017, 8:00 AM

@Trumpool - Yup. They forced the movie to be under 2 hours and I bet they forced specific scenes to be cut out. But why? What personally think, is that the original cut was very very bad and they couldn't allow it to be released, but who knows, we need to see the original cut to really find out

TheBigLebowski - 11/23/2017, 8:15 AM

@OB1 - This. It was probably gonna end up being more like BvS, which WB definitely didn't want. They should've taken some more time and reworked the script (and fire Snyder cause that's clearly what they wanted to do) instead of first shooting it one way and then going back and fixing it. Anyway, I didn't even dislike Justice League. It was entertaining schlock.

DavidGray - 11/23/2017, 8:22 AM

@Trumpool - Which is why it's doing poorly.

I'm sure a full-on Whedon JL film would make bank.

OB1 - 11/23/2017, 8:59 AM

@TheBigLebowski - completely agree

OB1 - 11/23/2017, 8:59 AM

@DavidGray - Yup

nikgrid - 11/23/2017, 10:34 AM

@DavidGray - Not with Danny [frick]ing Elfman doing his dorky best to drag the score back to the 90's

DavidGray - 11/23/2017, 10:36 AM

@nikgrid - lmao

VileBlood - 11/23/2017, 7:26 AM

This is WB's movie. It's neither Whedon's nor Snyder's film.

OB1 - 11/23/2017, 8:00 AM

@obredaan - Yup

Griela - 11/23/2017, 1:07 PM

It's funny how fans think if Snyder stayed it would have been more successful and a better movie. Snyder already failed twice and he's the reason the general audience didn't give Justice League a chance.

LEVITIKUZ - 11/23/2017, 7:27 AM

Outside of doing Superman right & the Aquaman lasso scene, I don’t think Joss helped the film

I still really hate how he reused that Age Of Ultron Joke with Flash & Wonder Woman. It works with Hulk & Black Widow because they were dating. Having Barry fall on Diana’s boobs is cheap humor.

I know WB gave him a 2 hour cap but I am still frustrated that that scene was included but not Cyborg flying for the first time because that’s an important scene.

I know I have issues with Snyder but Whedon didn’t impress me.

LordZero - 11/23/2017, 7:30 AM

@LEVITIKUZ - yea the flash scene on top of Wonder Woman was....strange

I just laughed and said "that's whedon for you"

1 2 3 4 5

Related Headlines

Justice League

JUSTICE LEAGUE Director Zack Snyder Says He's "Pretty Excited" About James Gunn's DCU Plans

JoshWilding

14 hours ago

Justice League

JUSTICE LEAGUE Director Zack Snyder Open To Making Animated Sequels; Believes Some DC Fans Are "Brainwashed"

JoshWilding

Apr 11, 2024 01:04 PM

Justice League

Henry Cavill Jokes (We Think) That His JUSTICE LEAGUE Mustache "Nearly Ruined My Career"

JoshWilding

Apr 11, 2024 09:04 AM

Related Headlines

Justice League

JUSTICE LEAGUE Director Zack Snyder Says He's "Pretty Excited" About James Gunn's DCU Plans

JoshWilding

14 hours ago

Justice League

JUSTICE LEAGUE Director Zack Snyder Open To Making Animated Sequels; Believes Some DC Fans Are "Brainwashed"

JoshWilding

Apr 11, 2024 01:04 PM

Justice League

Henry Cavill Jokes (We Think) That His JUSTICE LEAGUE Mustache "Nearly Ruined My Career"

JoshWilding

Apr 11, 2024 09:04 AM

Justice League

JUSTICE LEAGUE Director Zack Snyder Suggests His Fans Campaign To #ReleaseTheSnyderCut Of SUCKER PUNCH

JoshWilding

Apr 11, 2024 07:04 AM

Justice League

JUSTICE LEAGUE: Zack Snyder Marks Snyder Cut's 3-Year Anniversary With New Look At Jared Leto's Joker

JoshWilding

Mar 19, 2024 07:03 AM

Justice League

Captain America: New World Order

CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD Happy Meal Toys Reveal A First Look At MCU’s Take On Red Hulk

JoshWilding

2 hours ago

Madame Web

MADAME WEB Star Sydney Sweeney Responds To Producer Who Said "She's Not Pretty, She Can't Act"

MarkCassidy

6 hours ago

Latest Headlines

Marvel Studios

MCU Rumor Roundup: AVENGERS 5 Shoot Date, X-MEN Synopsis, Natalia Tena's Role, & More - Possible SPOILERS

MarkCassidy

19 mins ago

Captain America: New World Order

CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD Happy Meal Toys Reveal A First Look At MCU’s Take On Red Hulk

JoshWilding

2 hours ago

Madame Web

MADAME WEB Star Sydney Sweeney Responds To Producer Who Said "She's Not Pretty, She Can't Act"

MarkCassidy

6 hours ago

Batman vs. Superman

Leonardo DiCaprio Was In Talks To Play Lex Luthor In BVS; Gave Zack Snyder JUSTICE LEAGUE Idea

MarkCassidy

8 hours ago

Superman

SUPERMAN Director James Gunn Shares New Behind-The-Scenes Photo With David Corenswet And Rachel Brosnahan

MarkCassidy

11 hours ago

Sci-Fi

REBEL MOON R-Rated Director's Cut Will Include A Graphic Alien Sex Scene

MarkCassidy

13 hours ago

Hot Headlines

182 comments

SUPERMAN: James Gunn's DCU Reboot Finds Its Martha "Ma" Kent

MarkCassidy

1 day ago EST

139 comments

Hollywood Producer Slams MADAME WEB Star Sydney Sweeney: "She's Not Pretty, She Can't Act"

MarkCassidy

1 day ago EST

98 comments

Leonardo DiCaprio Was In Talks To Play Lex Luthor In BVS; Gave Zack Snyder JUSTICE LEAGUE Idea

MarkCassidy

8 hours ago EST

93 comments

THE FANTASTIC FOUR Rumored To Introduce Norrin Radd Alongside Julia Garner's Silver Surfer

MarkCassidy

22 hours ago EST

90 comments

More Sci-Fi & Fantasy ►

SNOW WHITE Rumored Plot Details May Clear Up Seven Dwarfs/Seven Bandits Confusion

More Cartoons & Animated ►

FALLOUT TV Series Renewed For Second Season After Impressive Debut On Prime Video

More Anime & Manga ►

TRAP: First Trailer For M. Night Shyamalan's Latest Spoils The Big Twist

More Horror ►

JAMES BOND: Henry Cavill Isn't Closing The Door On Playing 007; Maybe I'm Too Old Now. Maybe I'm Not...

More Action Movies & TV ►

AEW EVPs Matt And Nick Jackson, The Young Bucks, Have No Regrets After Airing ALL IN Footage

More Pro Wrestling ►

TRANSFORMERS ONE: First Trailer For Animated Origin Movie Takes Us Back To The Early Days Of Cybertron

More Sci-Fi & Fantasy ►

More Cartoons & Animated ►

More Anime & Manga ►

More Horror ►

More Action Movies & TV ►

More Pro Wrestling ►

JUSTICE LEAGUE: An In-Depth Look At Whether Joss Whedon Rescued Or Ruined The Movie

Justice League was partly Zack Snyder's and partly Joss Whedon's but did the latter's involvement ultimately ruin the movie or rescue it? Here, we take an in-depth look to come up with an answer...

JUSTICE LEAGUE Director Zack Snyder Says He's "Pretty Excited" About James Gunn's DCU Plans

JUSTICE LEAGUE Director Zack Snyder Open To Making Animated Sequels; Believes Some DC Fans Are "Brainwashed"

JUSTICE LEAGUE Director Zack Snyder Says He's "Pretty Excited" About James Gunn's DCU Plans

JUSTICE LEAGUE Director Zack Snyder Open To Making Animated Sequels; Believes Some DC Fans Are "Brainwashed"

Henry Cavill Jokes (We Think) That His JUSTICE LEAGUE Mustache "Nearly Ruined My Career"

JUSTICE LEAGUE Director Zack Snyder Says He's "Pretty Excited" About James Gunn's DCU Plans

JUSTICE LEAGUE Director Zack Snyder Open To Making Animated Sequels; Believes Some DC Fans Are "Brainwashed"

Henry Cavill Jokes (We Think) That His JUSTICE LEAGUE Mustache "Nearly Ruined My Career"

JUSTICE LEAGUE Director Zack Snyder Suggests His Fans Campaign To #ReleaseTheSnyderCut Of SUCKER PUNCH

JUSTICE LEAGUE: Zack Snyder Marks Snyder Cut's 3-Year Anniversary With New Look At Jared Leto's Joker

ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE: Revisiting The Movie's Best Easter Eggs 3 Years After The Snyder Cut's Release

Popular Headlines

SUPERMAN: James Gunn's DCU Reboot Finds Its Martha "Ma" Kent

SUPERMAN Director James Gunn Shares New Behind-The-Scenes Photo With David Corenswet And Rachel Brosnahan

Hollywood Producer Slams MADAME WEB Star Sydney Sweeney: "She's Not Pretty, She Can't Act"

Leonardo DiCaprio Was In Talks To Play Lex Luthor In BVS; Gave Zack Snyder JUSTICE LEAGUE Idea

JUSTICE LEAGUE Star Henry Cavill Takes A Shot At His Superman Return In BLACK ADAM's Post-Credits Scene

MCU Rumor Roundup: AVENGERS 5 Shoot Date, X-MEN Synopsis, Natalia Tena's Role, & More - Possible SPOILERS

CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD Happy Meal Toys Reveal A First Look At MCU’s Take On Red Hulk

MADAME WEB Star Sydney Sweeney Responds To Producer Who Said "She's Not Pretty, She Can't Act"

MCU Rumor Roundup: AVENGERS 5 Shoot Date, X-MEN Synopsis, Natalia Tena's Role, & More - Possible SPOILERS

CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD Happy Meal Toys Reveal A First Look At MCU’s Take On Red Hulk

MADAME WEB Star Sydney Sweeney Responds To Producer Who Said "She's Not Pretty, She Can't Act"

Leonardo DiCaprio Was In Talks To Play Lex Luthor In BVS; Gave Zack Snyder JUSTICE LEAGUE Idea

SUPERMAN Director James Gunn Shares New Behind-The-Scenes Photo With David Corenswet And Rachel Brosnahan

REBEL MOON R-Rated Director's Cut Will Include A Graphic Alien Sex Scene

Hot Headlines

SUPERMAN: James Gunn's DCU Reboot Finds Its Martha "Ma" Kent

Hollywood Producer Slams MADAME WEB Star Sydney Sweeney: "She's Not Pretty, She Can't Act"

Leonardo DiCaprio Was In Talks To Play Lex Luthor In BVS; Gave Zack Snyder JUSTICE LEAGUE Idea

THE FANTASTIC FOUR Rumored To Introduce Norrin Radd Alongside Julia Garner's Silver Surfer

SUPERMAN Director James Gunn Shares New Behind-The-Scenes Photo With David Corenswet And Rachel Brosnahan

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

TRANSFORMERS ONE: First Trailer For Animated Origin Movie Takes Us Back To The Early Days Of Cybertron

FURIOSA: Witness Anya Taylor-Joy As The Wasteland Warrior On New Total Film Covers

REBEL MOON Director Zack Snyder Suggests He Has A Six-Movie Plan For Netflix's Sci-Fi Franchise

Cartoons & Animated Features

SNOW WHITE Rumored Plot Details May Clear Up Seven Dwarfs/Seven Bandits Confusion

TRANSFORMERS ONE Trailer Reveals The Origins Of Optimus Prime And Megatron

X-MEN '97 Creative Express Interest In Bringing An X-MEN Animated Movie To Theaters

Gaming

FALLOUT TV Series Renewed For Second Season After Impressive Debut On Prime Video

Jack Black Seemingly Confirms Who He Will Be Playing In The Upcoming MINECRAFT Movie

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: SPLINTERED FATE Headed To Nintendo Switch This July

Anime & Manga

New AVATAR Movie, AANG: THE LAST AIRBENDER, Delayed To 2026

MY HERO ACADEMIA Season 7 Countdown Kicks Off With Class 1-A Character Visuals

GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE Returning To Theaters With New 4K Restoration

Horror

TRAP: First Trailer For M. Night Shyamalan's Latest Spoils The Big Twist

IMMACULATE Star Sydney Sweeney Has Been Slammed By A Hollywood Producer: "She's Not Pretty, She Can't Act"

SCREAM VII: Rumored Details On Sidney And Gale's Roles And Ghostface's Targets - SPOILERS

Action Movies & TV

JAMES BOND: Henry Cavill Isn't Closing The Door On Playing 007; "Maybe I'm Too Old Now. Maybe I'm Not..."

Alex Garland's CIVIL WAR Is The #1 Movie In North America- Opens To $25.7M

THE ACCOUNTANT 2 Adds Four More Actors Including JURASSIC WORLD Star Daniella Pineda

Pro Wrestling & MMA News

AEW EVPs Matt And Nick Jackson, The Young Bucks, Have "No Regrets" After Airing ALL IN Footage

Kurt Angle Reflects On What Went Wrong During Final WWE Run: "Fans Could Tell I Was Not The Same Wrestler"

AEW President Tony Khan Believes It "Made A Lot Of Sense" To Air ALL IN Backstage Footage On DYNAMITE

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

TRANSFORMERS ONE: First Trailer For Animated Origin Movie Takes Us Back To The Early Days Of Cybertron

FURIOSA: Witness Anya Taylor-Joy As The Wasteland Warrior On New Total Film Covers

REBEL MOON Director Zack Snyder Suggests He Has A Six-Movie Plan For Netflix's Sci-Fi Franchise

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS Director Steven Spielberg Reportedly Planning To Return To Sci-Fi Genre For His Next Movie

REBEL MOON Star Ed Skrein Has A Graphic Alien Sex Scene In R-Rated Extended Cut

KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Star Kevin Durand Reveals New Details About "Narcissistic" Proximus Caesar

Cartoons & Animated Features

SNOW WHITE Rumored Plot Details May Clear Up Seven Dwarfs/Seven Bandits Confusion

TRANSFORMERS ONE Trailer Reveals The Origins Of Optimus Prime And Megatron

X-MEN '97 Creative Express Interest In Bringing An X-MEN Animated Movie To Theaters

X-MEN '97 Makes A Big Change To Opening Credits; Showrunner Reveals MAN OF STEEL Inspiration For [SPOILER]

X-MEN '97 Reveals The Fate Of Professor X, The Villain Behind Genosha Attack, And Storm's Future - SPOILERS

Disney's Goofy Was The Inspiration For The Terrifying Monsters In Nicolas Cage's New Horror Movie

Gaming

FALLOUT TV Series Renewed For Second Season After Impressive Debut On Prime Video

Jack Black Seemingly Confirms Who He Will Be Playing In The Upcoming MINECRAFT Movie

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: SPLINTERED FATE Headed To Nintendo Switch This July